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Hypnobirthing versus Calmbirth

Before my baby was born I attended a Hypnobirthing class and later before my second I attended Calmbirth. Personally I saw little difference between the two. But lately I have heard a lot of woman claiming one is better than the other.

What are your experiences of each? Have you tried both? Was either more useful than the other?

This is interested - certainly Hypnobirthing and Calmbirth are based on similar foundations. That is, birth is a natural, normal process that a woman's body is designed to carry out. It is when we introduce fear into birth that it starts to 'go wrong'; stress is introduced into the birth and the body (in particular, the uterine muscles) tenses up. This is thought to slow down the birth and also means a woman experiences the contractions as pain (rather than pressure).

I have only taken a Hypnobirthing antenatal class myself, although I have read about Calmbirth. Whilst the foundations are similar, it seems that Calmbirth classes are generally taught by midwives whereas Hypnobirthing classes obviously focus on self-hypnosis. Calmbirth also puts a great emphasis on birthing as a couple.

Whilst I feel I benefited hugely from my Hypnobirth classes, I personally do not like some of the terminology used in hypnobirthing - in particular it may not be clear (from first impressions) that this refers to self-hypnosis and putting yourself into a deep state of relaxation.

Perhaps I should try Calmbirth in the future! I do feel that it is education about birth which is key (in both programs) to enabling a woman to trust her body and follow her birthing instincts.